post 22 april

The cue to write this blog post came about twenty minutes ago, when I looked up to the sound of thunder and shouting and saw a dozen or so [make it ten or so—everything's metric here] kids playing football [by which I mean soccer] with a basketball.

As spring ripens and the end of the semester shows up ahead of schedule—making room nation-wide for the Euro-2012 Football Championships—I’m increasingly sensitive to these scenes. The odd combinations, the unexpected signs and the big and little changes—these moments and pictures seem especially important to remember. A green car full of balloons parked at a playground. Twins trying to lift each other up to monkey bars neither is tall enough to reach.

My mom visited recently, and we had an excellent time. The best part was spending time with her, of course, and with friends and relatives who brightened the whole trip. It was also a chance, though, to see this world with different eyes, to take a step back and appreciate what’s here. Lots of photos, discussions about observations, and reflections resulted.

Yes, I’m growing more contemplative as my time remaining grows shorter. I’m keenly aware that April 15 was my last Easter in Ukraine, that I won’t be around to celebrate Ukrainian Independence Day or American Thanksgiving, and that at this time next year, I probably won’t be able to buy peanut butter halva.

I still have work to do here. I have a few more classes, with teachers and students, a final exam to give in Country Studies, two more Writing Beyond Reality seminars, an English Teacher Camp to plan and carry out, and Camp ACT to help swing into motion. I’ll visit friends, run in the second 10-K of my life, and welcome my dad when he visits in late May. I’ll celebrate the excitement of Euro-2012 as the madness envelops Ukraine.

However, I need to be thinking ahead, too. So, I am looking for one job while doing another. 

I've put off the job search for some time, have vaguely browsed on occasion or clicked on links that appeared in front of me. Now, finding I am somewhat overqualified for some positions and vastly underqualified for others, I am running out of combinations to search. For now, I'm bowled over by Boolean, AND OR I will look more later.

Still, I don't want to think about leaving Ukraine. So, let's leave that leaving alone for now.

For now, peanut butter halva, training for a race, and taking lots and lots of pictures.

:)

post 2 april

Hi there! What's happening where you are? Here, it's been sort of...

Women's Day
Writing Beyond Reality- three seminars in Lutsk, two in Rivne
School 10 visit
The International Creative Writing Contest
TESOL-Ukraine Conference in Kamianets-Podilsky
Visit to Chernivtsi
PDM in Lviv
Week of the Faculty, featuring the Country Studies Showdown and Spring Film Fest
MYN
Semester wrapping up
Summer planning- camps, visits, race

So, unfortunately, this is going to be a bunch of little blurbs. I realize that the truth comes through in details, but it's at least an effort to get caught up. Pictures of lots of the details can be found in albums I've posted online.

1. Yesterday, the sun was shining. For part of the day. Also, it rained. And hailed. And snowed. What? Come on, March. Let's wrap this up gracefully. Remember, you've got Women's Day!

thanks to my first-year students :)

2. One of the biggest successes of this time period has been Writing Beyond Reality. No doubt you recall, loyal reader, that a superfine crew carried out this seminar series in the fall in Mykolaiv. This spring we brought a similar series to both Lutsk and Rivne-- my site and Andrew's. Although the main goals are certainly to encourage writing and to enhance the teaching of writing, working with people I love is definitely an overwhelming bonus. I spent the fall traveling to Mykolaiv regularly, and although I wish no one had to travel very far, I'm so glad to have friends travel all across the country to work with me here. Writing Beyond Reality has taken the form of three seminars for teachers in Rivne, and one teacher seminar and three teacher/adult/student seminars in Lutsk. With one seminar remaining, we've worked through the writing process, considered various genres, and explored new methods of generating material, and now we're heading into revision, publication, and performance.

anya and iea, a well-balanced peer review

3. On the request of a teacher I met at the Teacher Recertification Institute, I visited Lutsk School 10 one afternoon. Although I don't usually spend much time in schools, it was fun to chat with the kids who were gathered for the occasion. These were mostly 6th and 7th graders, and they had lots and lots of questions and lots and lots of energy. I was even presented with some lovely gifts-- chocolates, a book, and a small basket filled with handmade beaded flowers!

School 10 visit

4. The International Creative Writing Contest-- last year's International Writing Olympics-- took place in late February, and while school and regional winners have been chosen, the national and international rounds of competition are still to come. It's a strange shift this year to step back from the national coordinator position and to be disconnected from a lot of the decision-making and mechanics. Still, I'm just happy to see that it's still going on, and hope it continues to continue for years to come! I'll share the link to the results once they're available.

PCV presenters allaboard for TESOL

5. This year's TESOL [Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages]-Ukraine Conference was held on March 15 and 16 in Kamianets-Podilsky, a beautiful and ancient town in the... well, south/west/central part of Ukraine (as if that's much help in looking at a map!). I was lucky to be one of six PCVs whose trip was supported by the US Embassy-- it's a win-win: they get quality presentations given by native speakers, and we get to share our ideas, meet new people, and explore a new place! This is the third year I've participated in the TESOL-Ukraine Conference, and it occurs to me that they're getting farther and farther away from my site [Rivne, Zhytomyr, K-P]. Maybe someone on the organizing committee believes I should be increasingly competent in traveling? Well, success, anyway! We stayed in a nice hotel, ate good food [although who knew that asking for a Caesar salad without meat would remove the chicken but not the ham?], and even went on an English-language tour of the old town. Lots of interesting information on that tour-- including the Turkish turret attached to the Catholic church, the bullet in the left eye of a golden statue of Mary, and , even though we only saw the castle from the outside [and that's some castle!].

the aforementioned 'some castle'

6. Then, I visited Chernivtsi, courtesy of friends Michelle and Megan. What an amazing city! It reminds me of Lviv, but has its own distinct style. Cultures have collided in and around this city throughout history, and it's very cool to see the different flavors and how they've been preserved. As with many cities, there are dark sides to the history of Chernivtsi, with a Jewish ghetto and various occupations. Still, there is a great deal of pride here. The university where Michelle works is actually a UNESCO World Cultural site! Imagine working in a castle...

Michelle, pleased, with university/castle

7. New PCVs and their counterparts are now receiving joint trainings on Project Development and Management, and my most excellent colleague and dear friend Vika and I were invited to to to Lviv and deliver these trainings to those in Lvivska oblast. It was two half-days of training, two days of travel, tasty dinner and a hotel stay, and a lot of rush! Still, with the sessions held at Lviv Polytechnical University-- another lovely building!-- and a follow-up press conference to spread the good word about Peace Corps, it was definitely time well spent.

my counterpart (Vika), my regional manager (Oksana), and my president (Ben)

8. Last week was the Week of the Faculty-- the designated time to celebrate the College of Romance Germanic Philology at Volyn National University. Plus, this year marked the 50th anniversary of RGP, so the celebrations were especially special. On Monday, after we had some joint planning sessions, the first-year students held a Country Studies Showdown, and on Wednesday, the big event was the Spring Film Festival! (Yes, there were other events, too-- Tuesday was a phonetics contest featuring second-year students and Thursday's event was a series of dramatic scenes put on by fourth-year students.) Although there were only two new entries for the film festival, we showed the fall films, too. Excellently enough, although one of the films was my independent project, the other film submitted was a collaborative work by the teachers of Applied Linguistics! Very cool.

film fest audience

9. Saturday was the annual Meet Your Neighbors meeting for PCVs in Volynska and Rivnenska oblasts, and it was definitely a point of reflection. As an extendee, I really felt the pull between wanting to jump in and be really active and the need to let other people have their chance and run the discussions. I definitely don't regret extending, but there are some points at which I wonder exactly where else I ought to be.

April 2

So, the semester's coming to an early close-- to allow for Euro-2012 adventures, and spring's making way for a visit from my mom, a visit from my dad, a camp for teachers, and a camp for pupils. Plus, May 5 will be another 'Day in the Life of Ukraine' project, May 19 will be the second time I've ever attempted to run a 10K race-- and hopefully the second time I finish one!-- and plenty more dates will have significance as they draw near. True, it did snow this weekend, and not just on April Fool's Day, but I have at least tentative confidence that spring is somewhere nearby.

:)

post 5 february

If you had to guess what it was that finally prompted me to write this blog entry, which of the following would you choose?

a) A successful return from a mostly successful trip from Moldova

b) My apartment being flooded while I was away

c) The beginning of a new semester of classes at the university

d) Supercold temperatures prompting week-long school closures

e) Running out of internet and being unable to activate a new round of service

I mean, really, all of those things led up to it, but now it’s the fact that all of my recent picture uploading, job searching, and actual work have left me with only dregs of internet—probably barely enough to post this entry, should I finish it tonight.

In fact, no rush. I think I’ll work out for a bit and watch an episode or two of The West Wing, and then I’ll be back. Just kidding. Right?

First, though, it's finished! A Day in the Life of Ukraine! Take a look HERE to see the map, click the links, and read the stories! You'll see 111 entries, submitted from all over Ukraine-- teachers, students, Peace Corps Volunteers, and more-- all telling the story of December 13, 2011. Enjoy! Woooooo!!

MOLDOVA!

So I went on an adventure trip to Moldova! Although your first question most certainly will be, ‘And did you sample any Moldovan wine?’, it seems likely that your second question will be ‘Why? After all the nice things you just got done saying about Ukraine, why run away now?’ Fair enough.

In fact, the trip to Moldova was designed to… extend my stay in Ukraine! Due to changes in Ukrainian laws, foreigners living in Ukraine need to go through a new process to obtain visas. For me, and for the other 16 or so extendees of Group 37, this means that we have to go to a Ukrainian embassy—yes, outside of Ukraine—to apply for a new D-1 visa, then return to Ukraine and begin the regional registration process. So, about 26 of us in this situation gathered in Kyiv, then piled on a bus and headed to Chisinau, the capital of Moldova.

The outcome of our trip was general success. We all left Moldova with D-1 visas. Hurrah! The process, though, was a little rough. When the expectation of a 12-hour trip turned into the reality of a 22-hour trip, however, some stress was admittedly experienced. The basic problem was that the diplomatic discussions and agreements hadn’t trickled down to the staff at the border crossing, and so they were concerned to find so many people with expired visas attempting to leave the country. As a result, they didn’t want to let us cross the border. Catch-22ish indeed. We wouldn’t be trying to leave the country if we didn’t have expired visas. What can you do, kick us out? As we discovered, some time between our 3:30 a.m. arrival and our noonish departure from, they could make us wait. And wait. Finally, the agreed-upon solution, negotiated by some elsewhere-but-important upper-level entities and our fearless guide/ PC staff member Sasha, was to interview each of us and to have us sign documents acknowledging that we were wrong to have expired visas and that this was our official warning never to do it again. Okay!

The rest of the trip, including our actual time in Moldova, was fine. I’m used to seeing lots of wide open spaces in Ukraine, but the countryside in Moldova seemed even more wide and open. Orchards, vineyards, and fields stretched expansively, covering the distance to Chisinau. Chisinau itself was a fine city, not too big, but nice for a day or so of walking around in. We drank bubble tea, ate nachos, saw the biggest bazaar, took pictures, and went souvenir shopping. Many of the souvenirs were similar to those we might find in Ukraine, and I had to laugh when one vendor suggested that we might like to buy some pysanky. “We live in Ukraine,” I told her. She laughed. To be sure, we made a strange group—speaking English to each other, half of us speaking Ukrainian, half of us speaking Russian, none of us really sure about the bright-colored bills and their values. In Moldova, people speak either Russian or Moldovan—which is actually Romanian, but just called Moldovan in official documents. It was sort of surprising to realize how much I could understand of what people were saying, but a good boost. However, the fact that their largest cell phone company seems to be called Moldcell--? I'm not sure I can support that. I have allergies, you know.

The trip back was an expected and uneventful 12 hours, and landed us in Kyiv for more information about the visa registration process. On the date they were issued, our visas were good for 45 days. So, within the remaining time, we need go to through a slightly complicated regional registration process, with the help of our regional managers, local counterparts, landlords, and multiple governmental offices. There’s some stress and nervousness involved in this process, but hopefully all will be well.

FLOOD!

When I came back to Lutsk, I found that my apartment had recently been flooded. Pipes, hoses, or othersuch had conspired to flood my apartment with hot water while I was in Moldova. The building staff became aware of the situation due to its effects on the two floors below. My floors had mostly dried, but I found wet papers, clothes, and very clean shoes. A high-water mark can be found a few inches above the floor throughout my apartment, and I immediately commenced an open-window/ space heater campaign to try to dry it all out. Unfortunately, the next step was the rippling of the floor in my living room and bedroom—the two rooms with hard-wood floors. Now parts of the living room floor show gentle swells, but the bedroom floor has a sort of mid-Atlantic ridge running from door to window. The building staff have been wonderful, super kind and understanding, and have comforted me to no end by repeatedly telling me I’m not to blame. This is the only good thing to come out of this experience—to know that people I don’t really know very well were willing to step up and support me when I was in a bad situation.

SUPERCOLD!

I can only say this so many ways: it’s been supercold this past week. Yes, there was a little more snow today on top of the ice and snow already, but the cold itself has been the real problem. Schools were closed for the week. News reports suggested that more than 100 people died as a result of the weather. Forecasts in the negative degrees forced me to realize, as my friend Andrew pointed out, ‘The closer you get to -40, Celsius and Fahrenheit are almost the same.’ Brrr. Seeing your breath is one thing. Seeing your breath freeze on your scarf in front of your face is another. Feeling your nose hairs frozen solid when you rush out to get the mail is another. Still, should be up to 0 soon, so maybe we’ll all be able to stop camping out in our kitchens and by our space heathers.

NEW SEMESTER!

Not too much to report in the new semester just yet, but lots of plans for good things to come! Writing Beyond Reality is coming to Lutsk (and Rivne! Andrew!), a spring film fest is in the works, a Valentine’s Day goodies-and-crafts fair is happening next week… I’m teaching master’s students in Applied Linguistics and first-year Ap Ling students in Country Studies. I think it’ll be a quick semester, not just because it’s my last (oh no!) but because the schedule is squished to make sure the summer is clear for Euro-2012, the big soccer championship to be held in Ukraine and Poland this summer. Woo! For some schools and universities, this means more Saturday classes, or, as in ours, longer days. Normally there are 6 ‘lines’, or class slots. This semester, there are 7. So, for those lucky enough to have a 7^th line, this class starts at 6 p.m. and ends at 7:20. There’s only one of those on my schedule for now, thankfully.

AND…

We’re also now working on Camp ACT—Action, Creativity, and Teamwork! It’s a regional camp for students entering grades 8-11, and will be held [hopefully!] in Shatsk in early July. We’ve already built our staff—half American and half Ukrainian—and they are indeed, as Vitalik pointed out, a dudical crew. There’s a lot of great energy and plenty of good ideas—and I’m especially excited that almost all of the Ukrainian staff members are students from my university, many of whom I’ve worked with on previous projects. This may actually be my favorite thing about this camp so far, but I have a suspicion I’ll continue to like it more and more.

So, until I run out of internet again… :)

post 12 january

Hi there!

When last we spoke [read: I wrote and you read], it was A Day in the Life of Ukraine. Since then, there have been many such days, but most are not quite as capitalized.

Regarding the Day in the Life of Ukraine project, though, about 200 entries were received from people all over the country. School pupils, university students, teachers, Peace Corps Volunteers, and others sent in their views on the day. You can see a map of where these entries came from—at least those with identified locations—if you peek HERE. Updates are there as received. All entries have now been read through and sorted, and those chosen for online publication will be seeing their work on the site soon! If you’re curious about how pieces were chosen, I can tell you. Many of the pieces received were not written in direct response to the task, and those will not be online. That is, many authors chose to write about their understanding of and/or love for Ukraine in general, or the happenings of an average day. Those pieces selected focused on the 13^th of December, and/or offered an interesting perspective on daily life in Ukraine. Stay tuned!

On a personal note—aren’t all of these notes personal?—the project offered me an exciting opportunity to connect with people all over Ukraine. Some were people I’d met through professional conferences or even in camps, but most were people I’ve never met or ever had previous contact with. I’m struck by the amazingness of communication, assisted, of course, by modern technology. I was so pleased to receive so many entries on a project that I set up personally, and hope those involved have enjoyed the opportunity. The positive comments were just great to read, and I’m especially pleased by the connections made. :)

Secret Santas: Revealed!

The Secret Santa project ended up including about 35 people from the College of Romance Germanic Philology at VNU. General success, with a few mix-ups, and hopefully the practice will continue!

What else?

Christmas came, twice! American Christmas brought three wise friends traveling great distances across the country [iea, Sally, and Nathaniel]—and two from across town [Terry and Vika]. We celebrated with a tasty vegetarian feast of quiche and macaroni and cheese and cookies and chocolate sausage—yum!—as well as crafty goodness, stockings, music, and general delight. Some health worries and travel concerns forced changes in our original Createmas plans, but all was well, all was bright.

The stockings were hung by the шафа (shafa) with care...

Before Christmas 2 came New Years, and two fine friends [Andrew and Laura] traveled my way again [where ‘my way’ means I don’t move at all!]. We made nature burgers, pizzas [some more artistically topped than others], resolutions, and lots of celebratory midnight noise.

Good people, good times. I’m lucky to have such excellent people in my life—people who know me and support me, people who do good things, and people I’m happy to learn from. To my friends!

Also, to my family! For Christmas 2! I made it to Komarno for Christmas Eve dinner—a tasty, meat-free meal… with fish. [Yes, fish is meat, although some may choose to disregard this fact.] When Bohdan came to pick me up, he said that it was like welcoming his own daughter home for Christmas. To my family! I spent the weekend listening to carols, playing with the kids, visiting other relatives, and eating lots and lots. This is what holidays are for: vareneky/ pierogies, sweet pampushky/ doughnuts, and good times together. On Sunday, Bohdan’s daughter and granddaughter—Ivanka and Irynka—and I went into Lviv to see some of the sights of the season. A light snow was falling, hot wine and pampushky were sold on the market square, manger scenes and a giant tree were ready for all kinds of photos, and decorations and music brought the magical holiday city to life. Lovely!

Christmas eve dinner starts with honey on bread for a sweet year ahead!

You’ll note that I was excited about ‘a light snow’—because that’s really all we’ve had this year. I am knocking on wood right NOW. I’ve been wearing my fall boots, putting off getting the boots I wore last winter stitched up. It’s been a bit slippery on occasion, but there have been no occasions on which I couldn’t see the ground through the snow. I guess it averages out—my first winter here was super-snowy—but it really doesn’t do much toward painting a picture of the ‘hardships’ endured in Peace Corps…

Other than holidays… I was a judge at the oblast [state] English Olympiad, where I graded listening and reading tasks, written essays, and speeches for 11^th form students. A serious task, with some very well prepared students, and some interesting questions. If you had to give up one sense, what would it be? If you could have one super-sense, which would you choose? [As my follow-up question, I got to ask how you’d use this super-power to help others.]

I made fudge, with varying degrees of success and consistency. No microwave, no candy thermometer, no [or minimal] problems.

I taught a cookie-making class. At my friend Oksana’s school—Family Academy Plai—it was a master class for moms and other holiday chefs. We made brownie cookies, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and gingersnaps. It was an interesting experience, a balance between me trying to use vocabulary I don’t really know well in Ukrainian, my friend Oksana translating occasionally, and a bit of cross-culturalculinary surprise. ‘Are these cookies okay for kids to eat?’ ‘Will these chocolate pieces melt in the oven, or will they still be there?’ ‘Do you have to press the dough flat, or how do the cookies spread out?’

The sweet life- pampushky in Lviv!

Things are generally going well, and I’m doing my best to keep them heading that way. New Years is, of course, a time to make resolutions, and I’ve made a list that I’m checking more than twice. Although I can’t imagine not being in Ukraine at this time next year, nor do I really have any idea where I’ll be or what I’ll be doing seven months from now, I’m working hard to stay focused on the things that matter. Honestly, sometimes it breaks my heart to think of leaving Ukraine, but I know that my work here is not to do things myself, but to encourage others to do for themselves and each other. No matter what my position or where I am, I think this will always be my task, and I need to start looking toward what that position will look like, while keeping my head in the game, my eye on the ball, and other similar metaphors of the ‘do what you’re doing and do it well’ variety.

Be well!

post 13 december

Although I may sound like a broken record if you’ve just read the preceding entry, I’ve just returned from Kyiv and Mykolaiv after a seminar in the Writing Beyond Reality series this weekend. Still, perhaps sadly, this is the last time you’ll be reading such an announcement. This seminar, the fourth, was focused on publication—through the creation of actual books, zines, sound design projects, and also through performance—and was the last in our series. I’m sad to see this seminar end, but I’m excited about what we were able to accomplish. Of three teachers who attended regularly, one said she now starts her class with freewriting activities and her students get upset if they think they won’t get the chance, another gave her students writing assignments [from the booklet I created as an International Writing Olympics prize last year] and then asked them to create zines—they were awesome!--, and a third asked exactly when we might be having the seminar in Lutsk to find out if she could possibly attend. Note: it’s a long trip. Seeing the writing that participants created, as well as listening to their shifting ideas about publication and writing in general, made all the travel and planning worthwhile. Plus, super-pleased to be able to work with such excellent PCVs in this project! It’s my hope that we’ll be having a similar series in Lutsk this spring, so stay tuned! (http://writingbeyondreality.wordpress.com)

Let’s see…

I finished Nanowrimo! Yeah! For the fifth year in a row, I was somehow able to complete a 50,000+ word novella within the month of November. This year’s book, tentatively titled In Print, takes place mainly in a book café in Lviv, and explores the space between fiction and reality. It needs some editing, some revising, and some what??-ing, but I’m happy to share with whoever wants to read. :)

Jonathan, my first and most fabulous site mate, has finished his service and left Ukraine. I wish him all good things, and will miss his good conversation, excellent taste in music, love of secondhand shopping, sense of humor, and all around let’s-do-something-ness. Sad to see him go, but glad we had two good years here together.

Having finished Nanowrimo, plus watching many of my fellow Group 37 PCVs vanish off into the great western world, I’ve been thinking about the future. So many options! Teaching at FCPS again? An MFA, either in poetry or even fiction? MA in TESOL? Peace Corps Response? Foreign Service? Having realized recently that I took the GRE more than 5 years ago—shock and yarrrr—another reevaluation is in order. Still, lots of possibilities. Got a great opportunity that you’d like to tell me about? I’d be delighted to hear. :)

We now have a Secret Santa project going on at the university! Over 30 people have signed up to participate, most without ever having heard of such a thing. It’s funny to figure out what things that are normal in the US are fresh and interesting in Ukraine. We have two weeks to do two nice things for our secret friends before the big reveal on December 23. Yes, I realize that’s just days before American Christmas, not Ukrainian Christmas, but hey, there are exams and New Years and vacation days in between! No discrimination intended!

The last thing, the big deal of the day: Today’s A Day in the Life of Ukraine! You, clever reader, have noted the additional capitalization here, and you remember my previous post, perhaps, too! Yes, it’s an event. I’m really excited about this project—a cooperative writing project in which people all across Ukraine document the day they experience today, 13/12/11 , as Ukrainians write the date. Hits on the website (http://adayinthelifeofukraine.wordpress.com) are already over 1200, the Facebook page and Facebook and VKontakte events have gotten some attention, and I’ve already started receiving entries at adayinthelifeofukraine@gmail.com. If you’re in Ukraine today and you want to participate, there’s still time! Entries are due on December 19! Check the website for more details.

It’s amazing how such a busy month can be summarized into just a few short points. Still, those are the main ones, so I’ll…

Oh! We had Thanksgiving, too!

And the teacher seminar in Chortkiv was successful!

And the Brain Ring was odd but fun!

And the film festival was great!

Okay, yes, I guess I forgot a few things.

Volunteers in Lutsk joined me and two of my best Ukrainian friends at my place for a vegetarian American Ukrainian fusion Thanksgiving spectacular, featuring lentil burgers and wrapping up with Fanta floats! Saturday was Thanksgiving 2 in Kivertsi, organized by Ben and Val, and attended by 17 PCVs! Too much food, but a warm and happy place to be. Thanksgiving 3, on Sunday, was a mini-celebration, at Window on America Community English Club, and featured a PowerPoint on Thanksgiving traditions, a roasted chicken, and lots of sweets.

The film festival was a great success, even after nearly 40 minutes of technical delay. It was pretty frustrating, completely unexpected, and barely preventable… but next time will be better! The waiting crowd was patient and kind, and we played a little Simon Says to keep everyone awake and happy. When the four films were shown, the audience was appropriately appreciative, and they helped to select the Peoples’ Choice Award winner. Congratulations to ‘The Lost Thing,’ and thanks to the creators of ‘Keep the Secret’, ‘Just the Beginning,’ and ‘To Winter’. Many students—and even teachers!—expressed their support for a spring film festival, and I’ll be very happy to help to make that happen!

Okay, that’s basically it. Really, this time. Happy Saint Andrew’s Day!

:)

post 14 november

Ah, travel. How much I like being in many places, and how excited I am for the invention of teleportation so I can get to all of them more quickly and efficiently!

Spent last weekend in Mykolaiv for the third seminar in the Writing Beyond Reality series. Good stuff. This time we moved on from just working with our five chosen genres—fiction, poetry, drama, creative non-fiction, and essays—into a wider variety of mini-lessons and onward into publishing. We had fun with found writing, slam poetry, a character support group, exploded moments, prose poetry, flash fiction, and more, plus zines, performance, blogging and other digital media, sound art, and bookmaking. The hope is that we—and all participants!—will make their own individual publication projects, as well as contributing to a group anthology.

Traveling between Kyiv and Mykolaiv in coupe instead of platskart was surprisingly exciting. Having a closed-in cabin instead of open sleeping shelves was a luxury, even being on the top bunk. Quality traveling companions always improve every trip, of course—here’s looking at you, Andrew and iea, plus Shannon and Jason!

I just got back early yesterday morning from Kyiv again, having spent three days in Chernihiv on Adopt-A-Cluster activities. This was a chance to meet with a group of Peace Corps Trainees, as well as members of their link clusters, and share my experiences with them. I co-taught a lesson on teaching vocabulary, then led another session on teaching writing. Good times. I think they may have thought I was a little ridiculous with how excited I was to be talking about writing, but hey. Peace Corps Volunteers are a little odd in general, and yes, I am excited about talking about writing! Another activity I got to take part in was a city-wide scavenger hunt. Despite the cold weather—big lovely snowflakes in the morning, but nothing but wet on the ground—the misty, intermittent rain, and the unexpectedly complicated instructions, we muddled through. Where is the 13th cannon? Where is the cheapest place for a man to get a haircut? For a woman to get a haircut? Where is the oldest church in Chernihiv? What’s playing at the philharmonic? The children’s theater? Who is the cut-off man? So many opportunities to gain confidence in asking for help… so much time to build up anticipation of the sweet, sweet hot chocolate to follow. Not all made it through, but those who did were richly rewarded with tiny cups of thick, melty goodness. Mmmmm…. melty goodness…

The deadline for the film fest entries has passed, and we have just four and a half entries [one might be on its way tomorrow, but we’ll see]. Still, it’s really cool to see the work that each team put into their story and production. Vika and I finished our film, too, and it looks pretty good. Will it—or any other films—be available online? Maybe, but you’ll have to wait until after the film festival! It looks now like we’ll have the showing on November 23, but we’ll see. Have to wedge this event between one Ukrainian holiday and one American holiday: Students’ Day—November 17—and Thanksgiving—November 24.

In other news… Newvember is going fairly well. I’ve been doing my best to fit in 30+ minutes of Something Active each day, plus morning yoga, and cutting out extra treats. Hard to tell if there’s much of a difference in how I look, but I feel pretty good. Plus, I’m sure my neighbors across the courtyard find it very entertaining when I’m doing the Bollywood Dance Workout in front of my living room window at night. Showtime!

Nanowrimo is… progressing. At this moment, I have 15,382 words, so I’m behind, but I’m pushing on! To those of you out there engaged in the same challenge, my writers-in-arms, I say: goooooooo! I mean, GO!, not something gooey, you understand. Why is it so hard to write that? Goooooh?

Next up is A Day in the Life of Ukraine. If you live in Ukraine, you can participate! If you know someone who lives in Ukraine, tell him or her to participate! The more, the merrier, and the better representation of the many ways in which people in Ukraine live their lives today—well, not today, but 13/12/11… December 13, 2011. Join in!

This week there’s a brain ring contest where I’ll be a judge, a teacher seminar in the town of Chortkiv, in Ternopilska oblast, and lots of other excitement, including actual classes with actual students! Imagine!

Also, this week brings the end of Peace Corps service to many of the members of my group—PC Ukraine Group 37. It’s really strange to imagine what things will be like without 81 of the 98 people left in our group—17 of us are extending. Best wishes too all of those on their way out over the next month—between November 17 and December 17. Congratulations on what you’ve already accomplished, and good luck on all you’re going to accomplish in your next steps in life. Щасливо вам!

post 31 october

I have some bad habits.

I don’t mean to say that I’m the only one, or that my habits are worse than your habits.

I’ve been looking forward to November since, well, slightly after last November. November, as many of us know, is Nanowrimo—National Novel Writing Month, a fabulous writing-motivating opportunity/ challenge to write a 50,000-word novel in one month. You can read more about it—and sign up!—at nanowrimo.org, but for now, I’ll just say that I’ve done it for four years, and I’ve finished each year. This year, I’m doing it again.

Nanowrimo is a great chance to be completely self-indulgent and offer myself oodles of time to enjoy my favorite hobby: creative writing. I realize that I need to do other things, too, of course. Over the past four Novembers/ Nanowrimos, I’ve taught full-time, planned and carried out two National Honor Society induction ceremonies and two Thanksgiving Dinner Drives, spent a week in Yemen, gone through Peace Corps training, and lived and worked in Ukraine. Easy-peasy.

Still, November also signals the official slide into winter. The colder weather, the holidays, and the general business offer the perfect opportunities to slack off in other areas. I stop working out as much. I treat myself with snacks, sweets, extra sleep, or other bonuses just because “I’ve been working so hard” or “It’s really miserable weather” or “I miss everyone” or other totally valid excuses.

I am also terrible at keeping up with real news. Yes, I read email, Facebook, VKontakte, but I’m missing those NPR-fueled commutes and drives around town. Excuses? I have no time. I don’t understand the situation/ story/ conflict/ whatever fully. I don’t have a TV or radio. Excuses.

Still, excuses they are, so I’m embarking on two challenges this month: NANOWRIMO and NEWVEMBER!

In addition to working toward the 50,000-word goal for Nanowrimo (that’s only 1,667 words per day, friend!), I am pledging to make a new effort in maintaining healthy and useful habits.

Each day, I will make a conscious effort to do one healthy activity for at least 30 minutes, in addition to regular morning yoga. This could be running, a cardio DVD, or even Bollywood dance. Also, each time I turn on my computer, I will read the news on my new iGoogle page and listen to the NPR hourly news. Plus, I will avoid all “treats” that aren’t really treats—food and laziness offered as comfort in place of actual encouragement.

So, now you know!

In other news…

made out of salo, Euro 2012 fever, and a lot of... eww

- - This year’s most unintentionally scary Halloween weekend activity was the annual Lutsk salo festival. Yes, that’s right, salo is pig fat, a popular Ukrainian dish/ delicacy/ garnish, and this festival was, well, not for me.

- - I always forget how good beets are here. That’s all on that.

- - Here’s the next big thing I’m working on: A Day in the Life of Ukraine! On December 13, 2011, everyone living in Ukraine is invited to write about his or her day. These stories will be submitted, and the best and most interesting pieces will be compiled in an online and hopefully print format. The goal is to encourage greater understanding of Ukraine and Ukrainians, both among Ukrainians and abroad. Ukraine is a diverse country with many types of division, and the hope is that sharing stories will help people see each other as individuals and not labels. Sound good? If you want to get involved, or if you’re in Ukraine, and you want to write, let me know! Check out the soon-to-be-more-developed site: adayinthelifeofukraine.wordpress.com

Happy almost-November!

:)